Stephens Service Center

I’ll keep this short:
Free Estimate = $ 189
$ 3,500 repair = made it less than 100 miles before the engine threw a rod.
Leave truck for estimate= Broken into and $ 1,500 worth of tools stolen.
Quote for repairs= 3.5X higher what we had the Mercedes do the work for.
Their attitude= priceless
Response:
So much for short and sweet. You did a $ 3,500 repair which lasted less than 100 miles before catastrophic failure– which ended up with me having to replace an engine. I can post pictures of your invoice, our tow receipt and invoice for engine repairs if you are going to insist on calling me a liar. As far as our tools getting stolen– no one ever asked you to pay for having our tools stolen while our truck was in your possession– we just called to inform you of it in case you wanted to help us in any way (comment on police report, possible surveillance camera footage, etc.) I can post a copy of the police report if you are calling me a liar about this. In regards to the recent repair estimate– you couldn’t even tell me if your «ballpark» estimate included tax or not. Your business has already proven to be liars and shady– I’m not the first person to write about you adding on extra repairs and costs. If you would have said you charge $ 189 to give me a written estimate I would have declined. As far as you costing more than 3.5x what the Mercedes Dealer charges– I did the math and it was actually 3.8X more. I made a nifty little info-​graphic with your invoice and the invoice from Mercedes that breaks it down for you. I will post to your pictures to show you what I mean. Anything else you want to call me a liar about?

I love this place. So much that even though I’ve moved down to the Bay, I still drive up here to get my car serviced at Stephens. They are polite, have very reasonable prices, and are always trying to find the least expensive way to deal with your Mercedes issue. Many thumbs up!

Knowledgable. However, be careful — do your research before authorizing very costly «extra» maintenance that is not necessarily needed. We ended up finding out from 2 different mechanics (that did not know each other) we paid for a «fluff» service (several hundred dollars).

Called just a moment ago, 916−452−5067. Someone answered the phone, «Mercedes Service Center». I was confused because I thought I was calling Stephens Service Center. I asked, «Did you say Mercedes Service Center? Because I’m looking for Stephens Service Center.» He replied, «Yes» then hung up the phone.
He hung up on me! Can you believe it? I was only confirming that I called the right place. If he can’t stay on the phone to answer a simple question then you don’t get my business, but you will get 1 star.

We miss Tom and the Stephen’s Service Center. We’ve relocated to the east coast but when we lived in the Bay Area we didn’t hesitate to drive from San Francisco to east Sacramento to have our C230’s and S500 serviced. The staff is top notch. They escaped the clutches of the Daimler-​Chrysler merger, in which the American arm instructed the technicians to «find anything and everything wrong» with the car (s) and increase profits, and set up their own shop. During our visits there our cars left in great shape and the staff even gave us rides to the downtown mall (s) so we could enjoy shopping or dining while they serviced our car (s). We were always pleased and still recommend them from thousands of miles away as we have yet to find such a knowledgeable, competent, and detail-​oriented group of professionals. Trust in Stephen’s Service Center. They will tell you when things REALLY need to be replaced or repaired and suggest necessary service (s) unlike the dealer who seems to ALWAYS find something wrong. Give Stephen’s a try. You won’t be disappointed.

My family has been bringing our cars to Stephens Service Center for the past few years and have ALWAYS been thrilled with the amazing service, value, and wealth of knowledge Tom (the owner) provides to all of his customers.
Tom takes great detail in everything his shop does and always sits down with his customers personally to detail everything that was performed on their vehicle. Also, unlike many other service centers, he quotes you the actual price that you will be paying out the door when you call him over the phone. There’s none of that «oh but the price on the phone didn’t include labor…» or similar excuse when you actually take your car in. That in itself shows that Tom and his workers have integrity.
Stephens Service Center had been recommended to me by a friend but at first I was hesitant to drive the extra distance to see Tom thinking that there would be no real difference in service/​hassle/​price. After the first time I went in, I have been a customer for life. My father and his friends have started going to Tom exclusively for all of their vehicle’s service needs and I have not heard a single complaint from any of them.
I don’t write too many 5-​star reviews on Unilocal but when I do it’s because a business consistently went above and beyond all expectations. Tom Stephens at Stephens Service Center did exactly that. Can not recommend them enough. Give him a call or stop by – you will not regret it!

Stephens Service Center is the only place i’ll take my Mercedes!!! Tom the owner was very helpful and explained everything to me in detail about what my car needed and prices. They got me in fast and did a GREAT got fixing my car. I will always take my car to them!!!

I’ve had a similar experience as the other dissatisfied customer (Mark). I’ve learned that this shop charges just as much as the dealership and their mechanics are self trained; not factory trained by Mercedes Benz, so why not just go to the dealership? I won’t go there again. By the way, most of the 5 star reviews are fake… deceivingly done by friends and family members.

These guys are honest and no-​nonsense. They provide a satisfying real world approach to maintaining your MB/​AMG away from the dealer mumbo jumbo. Tom is very informative and is not a cockmaster salesman like what roams typical dealership service centers.
I had them do a fairly major list of PM items on my AMG E63 which they did promptly. A few months later I noticed a small leak under my car. I called Tom, he said bring it by tomorrow which I did, he fixed it quickly and told me what the problem was (a pinched o-​ring seal from when the trans fluid was flushed). It’s been perfect since. I know when I see something like «Service D needed soon» come up on my dash, I know I can bring my car to Tom and get just what needs to be done, nothing more or less.
P. s. I read the other review here, and I don’t believe Tom or the guys at Stephen’s have anything to be worried about. It sounds to me like the reviewer has maybe delayed maintenance on his vehicle or has received previous subpar maintenance and now is trying to blame the messenger. If you are on top of your car’s maintenance, there will be no surprises! JMO
BTW Unilocal, I don’t appreciate having my review FILTERED! Your filtering system is unfairly removing honest, positive feedback for this vendor! I am unimpressed with your weak sauce algorithm.

If you own a Mercedes, this IS the place to get your car fixed. Without question, Tom the owner, is very knowledgeable and responsible. Every one knows that when you get a luxury car like a Mercedes, eventually you want to stop paying high dealer prices. The secret is to find the local mechanic that is going to give you better than dealer service at a lower price. THIS is the that place. And unlike other places that will use non-​Mercedes parts to save money on your repair, Tom only uses orginal Merecedes parts. His staff is excellent and I have always been very pleased with the level of help and the quality of service.